Off-Broadway

Conor McPherson’s ‘THE BIRDS’ Receives NYC premiere

Conor McPherson’s THE BIRDS receives NYC premiere as part of 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters

New York, New York August 15, 2016—59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to host BirdLand Theatre with the NYC premiere of THE BIRDS, written by Conor McPherson and directed by Stefan Dzeparoski. Part of 1st Irish, THE BIRDS begins performances on Friday, September 9 for a limited engagement through Sunday, October 2. Press opening is Thursday, September 15 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $20 ($14 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

In an isolated house, strangers Nat and Diane take shelter from relentless masses of mad attacking birds. While they find temporary sanctuary, there is scarce comfort — there’s no electricity, little food, and a surviving neighbor may be stalking them. When another refugee arrives with news of the outside world, paranoia takes hold of this makeshift fortress.

Celebrated playwright Conor McPherson adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s spine-tingling short story was called “deliciously chilling… spring-loaded with tension…claustrophobic, questioning, frightening; and with a twist,” by The Irish Independent during its world premiere at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. The Irish Times raved, “never has [McPherson] been more in control… he keeps us on the edge of our seat.”

The cast features Antoinette LaVecchia (A View from the Bridge on Broadway), Tony Naumovski (Wide Awake Heats at 59E59), and Mia Hutchinson-Shaw (The Island Boys at Urban Stages).

Work for the cinema includes I Went Down, Saltwater, Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, The Actors, and The Eclipse. Forthcoming screen work includes an adaptation of John Banville’s Elegy for April for the BBC to be broadcast this year. Awards for his screenwriting include three Best Screenplay Awards from the Irish Film and Television Academy, Spanish Cinema Writers Circle Best Screenplay Award, The CICAE Award for Best Film Berlin Film Festival, Jury Prize San Sebastian Film Festival and The Méliès d’Argent Award for Best European Film.

Stefan Dzeparoski (director) is New York based internationally acclaimed director and artist focusing on interdisciplinary stage practices at the cross section of art and technology. He is a Resident Director at BirdLand Theatre where he directed Wide Awake Hearts by Brendan Gall at 59E59 Theatre in early 2016. He also directed Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph, Fortune and Men’s Eyes and Soulseek. Other plays include After the Fall by Arthur Miller, Roberto Zucco by Bernard Marie Koltes and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee. Stefan holds MFA in Theatre Directing and MA in Theatre Studies. He also is an alumnus of Directors Lab (2011) at the Lincoln Center Theater. AWARDS: voted Best Director at BroadwayWorld.com for Gruesome Playground Injuries and Sterling Award nomination. His multi media project Delete was featured at Prague Quadrennial in 2015. ###